Some Starless Night
by Rose Thorne
Summary: Chloe is able to keep her head high, following Miracle Queen, until... Part of the Catch a Falling Star series, following Pocketful of Starlight.


**Some Starless Night**

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: Don't own _Miraculous Ladybug_ or make any money writing fanfiction.

* * *

Despite widespread belief to the contrary, Chloé wasn't stupid. Arrogant, certainly, not that she would ever admit that to herself.

She knew, from hushed, furtive conversations that turned to silent stares when she was noticed, that there was talk of bringing her up on charges for cooperating with Hawkmoth. Utterly ridiculous!

Chloé could see that Adrien cringed more fully when she hugged him and called him by his childhood nickname, could see the new hesitation in Sabrina before she capitulated to her demands, could see the wariness and outright hostility of the peasants that were the rest of her classmates, straight from the unwashed masses.

She knew much of Paris was outraged.

But she held her head high, looked down on them—if Adrien didn't see how she _deserved_ the Bee, he wasn't worthy of being seen as her equal.

At least she didn't have to deal with _Marinette Dupain-Cheng_. Ugh, she was sure the baker girl would be under the impression she had the grounds to judge someone like Chloé. But she was so far beneath her she was ground under her designer heels.

She'd heard, listening unnoticed to Alya talking with Nino, that the brat was taking some time for mental health—what a weakling.

But it gave Chloé the opportunity to rule the roost, knocking Lila down a few pegs when she got a video from Jagged Stone—who had since left the Grand Paris to slum at a lesser accommodation—stating he'd never heard of Lila Rossi and had never owned a kitten.

Dupain-Cheng could've done it months ago, but the little coward had just taken it. After giving Chloé a surprising run for her money, her fire had been quenched in the face of an utterly ridiculous liar.

Stupid peasant.

Though the class wasn't fond of Chloé, they'd accepted the evidence and Lila's hold had faded—especially after Chloé recorded her threats in the bathroom the next day and played them for the class.

"Like a serf like you could touch someone like me!" she'd huffed as the girl broke into unconvincing fake tears, trying to twist it to her advantage and failing miserably.

Weak, the lot of them.

When, a week later, Marinette stumbled into the classroom nearly late and unexpected, Chloé fixed her with a haughty stare, daring her to judge.

What she didn't expect to see was sorrow, grief, disappointment. Like she had expected greatness from Chloé Bourgeois, and it had all been swept away, leaving her bereft.

For some reason, that expression hurt worse than anything she'd experienced in the past week. Even Ladybug taking the Bee back with finality didn't compare.

As the class broke for lunch, she couldn't stand it anymore, marching straight to Marinette's desk and slamming her manicured hand against the wood.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

Their classmates were immediately in protection mode, their stances like bodyguards ready to eject an intruder.

She didn't think it was possible for Dupain-Cheng to look more forlorn, but she somehow managed it.

"I thought Queen Bee was amazing," Marinette said, shocking Chloé into taking a step back, "that you really could be a hero."

As Chloé stood there in open-mouthed shock, the girl sniffled, a tear breaking loose and tracing a tear down her cheek. And she was horrified to find her own eyes tearing up, that all it had taken was the baker girl crying—over her!—to crack the dam she'd put in place against the world.

_Marinette_, who she'd treated so poorly for so long, who had the least reason to, had had _faith_ in her. And Chloé had destroyed it.

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

She didn't know why, even as she stalked with all the bravado she could muster from the room to hide the tears threatening to escape, that felt worse than the betrayed look she'd gotten from Ladybug.

But it did.

* * *

Not in the mood to write crack tonight. Just angst.


End file.
